INDIANAPOLIS – Chris Dudley had played 28 seconds in the first-round series against the Raptors and seventh-tenths of a second in the second round vs. Miami. On the day between the Heat series and Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Pacers,

Dudley walked into Jeff Van Gundy’s office, told him he was ready to play more and felt he could help.

Those are the last conversations Van Gundy wants to have with one of his players, but in this case, he respected Dudley for coming in.

“I’m like the Baskin-Robbins counter man,” Van Gundy said. “I just say, ‘Take a number,’ because there’s a long line every day. But you know what: Chris did it in a great way. He comes in, talks to you. He doesn’t make off-the-record comments and try to manipulate the media in trying to see his side. No bitching and moaning to his teammates.

At the time, Van Gundy could give him no assurances since it was still a few days before Patrick Ewing’s right foot betrayed him. But Van Gundy was willing to listen because Dudley had been the team’s hardest worker, even though he was out of the playoff rotation and had been on the outside looking in since Ewing’s return in December.

“I knew that the way he’s been practicing and the extra time he puts in, which is terrific considering he is as unhealthy as anybody, he’d be ready when called upon,” Van Gundy said. “Nobody writes about his health but he’s as unhealthy as anybody. His back and knee are very, very bad.”

Dudley has a bulging disc in his back and will need all summer to heal, and his knee has been sore since he sprained it prior to preseason.

“He could’ve shut it down when he wasn’t getting minutes and just gone on and collected his money the rest of the year, but he’s got too much pride,” Van Gundy said. “I really appreciate the way he handled himself, yet I couldn’t promise him anything. Because if we didn’t have injuries, he wouldn’t have had a chance. But I felt very confident in him that when I called on him he’d play well.”

Dudley has played the last three games and done well. Van Gundy was pleased with his eight-minute, five-foul stint Monday in Game 4. He grabbed five rebounds in that span, three offensive, that led to six points on open 3-pointers by Charlie Ward and Larry Johnson.

“He made a significant contribution,” Van Gundy said of his $7 million-per-year Ewing insurance policy.

*

The Knicks had a light walk-through practice so it was tough to gauge how the injured three – Ewing, Latrell Sprewell and Marcus Camby – were coming along. “We just walked through and everybody walked fine,” Van Gundy said … Playoff hero Charlie Ward has seven double-figure outputs in the last 10 playoff games, dating to Game 2 in Miami.

Van Gundy on the Knicks’ hanging on for a two-point victory after leading by 17 at halftime in Game 4: “We played as poor a second half as we could after a great first half. We survived. You can’t play a high-turnover game on the road like we did [Monday]. We had nine [in the second half].”